Warriors: The NEW New Prophecy book 1: The Awakening
by snowfur 14
Summary: There is a new threat to the clans. A terrible threat that will destroy them. But even in the darkest of places there is a glimmer of light. The NEW new prophecy has arrived. better at story than summary.
1. prologue

Prologue

The half-moon shone in a cloudless sky, watching over the little pool of water as five cats walked down the little ledge that ran along the cliff.

"Jayfeather, do you need any help?" Asked a golden tabby she-cat, her eyes filled with concern.

"No, I can manage, Thank you, Mothwing." Said a grey tom curtly, ice blue eyes boring into her.

"It's alright, Mothwing, he's managed before, and he'll manage tonight." Said Littlecloud, a very small tabby tom, his eyes flashing sympathy at her. She nodded and they continued walking.

All of this went unseen by Jayfeather, for he was blind, but only in the waking world. He could see quite well in his dreams.

They reached the edge of the water. "Alright everyone, happy dreams with Starclan." Said Willowshine, Mothwings apprentice.

Everyone crouched around the water and started lapping it up. They soon fell into a deep sleep.

Jayfeather opened his eyes, blinking in the bright light. He was in the middle of a large group of trees. He started looking around for the cat he was to speak with. Seeing a patch of orange fur amidst the foliage, he followed it into a clearing with a rock in the middle of it. Firestar was sitting on the rock as though he was waiting for him.

"_Five, children of three, must save the clans from an evil never even imagined. Like greencough, if left untreated, the clans will come to an end."_ He said.

Jayfeather was startled. "What? How will I know which cats are the right ones?" He asked.

He felt himself being pulled back to wakefulness. "Wait! I need to know!" Jayfeather shouted as darkness clouded his vision once more.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hi again! I have the new chapter up, so now we can continue.**

**Okay, so this one is third-person Jayfeather, but the rest of the book is going to be centered around Dovewing's kits. The next book will be centered around the other two, so hold on and bear with me. Again this is my first story, and I do not own warriors. Erin Hunter does, and they give it much more justice than I do.**

CHAPTER 1

_Dovewing bit hard into the stick_ as the third kit slid out onto the floor of the nursery. The stick was strong, but it splintered in her mouth. Jayfeather heard the newborn kits as they mewled pitifully beside their mother. Dovewing described that one was a Broad-shouldered orange and brown striped tom, one was a white she-cat, and one was a gold-grey she-cat. "What are their names?" He asked.

Dovewing Looked at her mate, Bumblestripe, who had just entered the den. "Bumblestripe, you name one."

Bumblestripe looked stunned. "o-okay." He stammered. He padded over to the gold-grey she-cat. "How about Maplekit?" He asked.

"Maplekit." Agreed Dovewing. "And let's name this one Hailkit." She nudged the white kit, who let out a high-pitched mew.

Bumblestripe nudged the large tom, who had stopped moving. The kit mewled in protest and lashed its paw out, claws unsheathed, and swiped Bumblestripe across the nose."Ow!" He exclaimed, "His claws are as painful as a bramble patch!"

"Then that is what we will name him. Bramblekit." Said Dovewing softly. Bumblestripe nodded his agreement.

Jayfeather backed out of the den and climbed up the pile of rocks that led to the leaders den. "Bramblestar?" He said, "Dovewing just had her kits."

"Excellent. How many?"

"Three, two she-cats and a tom."

"Good, the Clan needs more warriors. Thank you, Jayfeather, you can go now."

"Yes, Bramblestar" Jayfeather padded out of the den. Casting his senses around the camp, he heard and smelled Thunderclan going about its daily business. Greystripe and Millie were searching through the fresh-kill pile. Foxleap and Icecloud were practicing warrior moves near the medicine den. Briarlight was dragging herself across the clearing toward the nursery, a rabbit in her jaws. _Probably going to feed Dovewing._ He thought. He felt a pang of sadness towards Briarlight.

Back when she was an apprentice, a fire had spread through the camp, and a tree had fallen on her, breaking her spine. Her legs now dragged helplessly behind her, and she couldn't feel anything past the break. Her forelegs were as strong as any other cats'.

Jayfeather walked back to his den, his eyes drooping from exhaustion. He settled into his nest and close his eyes. It didn't really make much difference, his vision was still black as ever. He was thinking about the prophecy until sleep washed over him like a flood.

_Five, children of three, must save the clans from an evil never even imagined. Like greencough, if left untreated, the clans will come to an end._

**So, how about that? please rate & review and all that stuff. Again, constructive criticism or praise only please, no flames.**

**Snowfur**


	3. Chapter 2

**So, here it is! Chapter 2! you're welcome! This is where we meet the main characters. I will be going in a cycle of Bramble-, Hail-, Maple-. I alone know their future warrior names. Muahahahahahahahahahaha!**

Chapter 2

"_Thunderclan! Shadowclan is attacking!"_ Bramblekit squeaked. He and his siblings were playing outside the warriors den. He barreled into Maplekit, who started to swipe at his ears. They were just a moon old and Bramblekit was getting bored of playing with the same cats every day.

Suddenly, Cloudtail burst out of the warriors den, Dustpelt a tail length behind him. Their fur was bristling and they glared around the camp.

"Wheres Shadowclan?" Cloudtail hissed. His gaze finally resting on the kits, staring at him and Dustpelt in awe and fear. "Kits!" He mewed in exasperation, "They never let me get any sleep."

He padded back to the warriors den, muttering something about more sleep. The kits were still staring wide-eyed at Dustpelt. "Are you going to punish us?" Asked Hailkit, her eyes filled with worry.

Dustpelt sighed. "I'm not going to punish kits for playing. Do it more quietly, okay?"

"We're sorry." Said Maplekit. They started play-fighting again. Bramblekit shoved Hailkit into Maplekit, who batted at her ears. Hailkit jumped on Maplekit's back. Maplekit flipped onto her back, squashing Hailkit under her.

Bramblekit barreled into Maplekit. "Get off of her, you fox-heart!" he shouted as he hit her. "Fine. Then I'll kill you first!" She didn't notice that Hailkit had gotten up until she was shoved away from grappling with Bramblekit. _She's quite talented_ he thought as Hailkit pinned Maplekit to the ground.

"Be careful!" Bramblekit turned to see that his mother was sitting in the entrance to the nursery. Her eyes were glittering with worry. "We are!" Bramblekit answered back.

They played for a little while, then stopped when Hailkit's paw twisted under her. She fell to the ground with yowls of pain. Dovewing came rushing over, Jayfeather hard on her paws.

"Sprained paw." Jayfeather said after examining her paw closely. He tried moving her paw around, but she squeaked in pain. "Come with me to my den" He said and walked back to his den, Hailkit limping behind him.

Dovewing Whirled on Bramblekit and Maplekit. "I told you to be careful!"

"But we were! Honest!"

"Get back to the nursery now. Your going to be in there for two days."

On their way back to the nursery, Bramblekit noticed that Cinderheart-at least he thought that was her name-was walking a bit slower than usual, and her belly was swollen. He was quite happy with that. _More kits for me to play with!_ He thought as they went into the nursery.

**You like it? remember to like and review and all that stuff!**

**Snowfur**


	4. Chapter 3

**Okay, this chapter is not one of my best, but I think that it is still important to the plot for later on. If you don't like it, I understand, just post why in the reviews, or pm me if it is very important, like new cats to add as apprentices in other clans! I have not said this for a while, so here goes. I don't own warriors. I wish i did, but I don't.**

Hailkit was in the medicine den waiting for Jayfeather to come back with poppy seeds to soothe her aching paw. She had been waiting for what had seemed like moons, but had probably been more like moments, when he came out of his store with a rather small poppy head. "These are the last of the poppy seeds," he said, "I'm going to need to go out and collect some more."

He shook a couple of seeds out of the flower. "Lick them up," he said, "you'll start to feel tired, but that's normal." Hailkit licked them up, and as soon as she did, she started to feel exhaustion flooding her senses, before she could say anything, her head hit the ground and she fell into a deep slumber.

She was in a forest. Not like the forests around the lake. It was too bright for that.

"H-Hello? Is anyone there?" She called quietly. Suddenly, she saw an orange tail sliding into the shadows.

She scampered after it, hoping it was another cat. Questions were buzzing in her mind. Where was she? How did she get here? Who was she following? What was she following? Where was she going?

Some of these questions were answered when she got to a clearing with a large rock in the middle of it. Standing on this rock was a cat that Hailkit didn't recognize. He was an orange tom, with bright green eyes that bored into her amber ones. "Wh-Who are you?" asked Hailkit fearfully.

"I am Firestar," said the tom,"I was the leader of Thunderclan before Bramblestar."

"Why am I here?"

"I have something to tell you."

"Where are we?"

"We are in the woods of Starclan, the home of your warrior ancestors."

"What's the message you have to tell me?"

"Five, children of three, must save the clans from an evil never even imagined. Like greencough, if left untreated, the clans will come to an end"

As he spoke, the wind had picked up, and Hailkit felt herself fading away. "Wait! I don't understand!" She shouted.

"You will soon enough." Came his reply, barely a whisper over the howling of the wind.

The wind had picked up so much that Hailkit was scared that she would get thrown into a tree trunk, when her vision faded into blackness.

**How was that? Remember, review me and tell me your CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Thanks!**

**Snowfur**


	5. Chapter 4

**Warning: this chapter contains kind of graphic content of cats giving birth. you needed to be warned. I do not own warriors, no matter how awesome that would be.**

Chapter 4

_Maplekit woke up to the sound_ of high pitched yowling coming from camp. She started wriggling over to the side of the nest to see what was going on, but Dovewing's paw stopped her.

"It's okay," said Dovewing, "Cinderheart's just having her kits, that's all." Maplekit looked at her mother, her eyes wide. "Is it normal for it to hurt when kitting?" She asked. "Yes." Said Dovewing. She yawned. "Go back to sleep." She said, then closed her eyes.

Maplekit wasn't giving up. She wanted to see what kitting looked like. So, she slowly crept outside, careful not to disturb Bramblekit, and looked.

What she saw startled her. Cinderheart was in the middle of the clearing, Lionblaze at her side, trying to soothe his mate by licking her bristling fur flat. Jayfeather was also there, giving Cinderheart herbs to soothe her pain and a stick to bite down on. Cats were peering out from every den.

"Jayfeather, what's happening?" Maplekit turned to see Bramblestar bounding down the pile of rocks that led to the leader's den. "Cinderheart is having her kits." Explained the medicine cat.

"Why is she in the middle of camp?"

"She refused to go into the nursery, despite my begging." Said Lionblaze. "She hasn't been out of the camp on a moon and a half." He added quickly. He then returned to comforting Cinderheart as another spasm racked her body.

"all right, Cinderheart, they're coming." Jayfeather felt her belly, "Feels like three kits." He said.

Cinderheart bit into the stick as the largest spasm yet gripped her body. Maplekit's eyes widened when a small bundle slipped out.

"Lionblaze, nip the film." Ordered Jayfeather. Lionblaze did, and the bundle opened to reveal a tiny grey she-kit, soaking wet. "Lick its fur the wrong way." Said Jayfeather. Lionblaze licked the kit's fur gently but firmly.

As he was doing this, another bundle slid out. Jayfeather picked it up and placed it at Bramblestar's paws. Bramblestar nipped it and began licking its fur the wrong way. Maplekit had to strain to see its color. It was a brown and white striped tom, and it wasn't moving.

"It-It's breathing!" Exclaimed Lionblaze, joyfully looking at the kit he had been licking. Maplekit was overjoyed. _A new denmate! _She thought.

The stick in Cinderheart's mouth splintered as a third bundle slid out. This one Jayfeather took and nipped. The kit was a tiny brown tom. Jayfeather began licking its fur the wrong way.

"It's not breathing!" said Bramblestar worriedly. Jayfeather gave the kit he was licking to Lionblaze and bounded over to Bramblestar.

Maplekit's pelt prickled with worry, then she was startled as teeth gripped her scruff. "You've seen enough." Said Dovewing, carrying her over to their nest.

Maplekit fell asleep again, but not before she heard Lionblaze's yowl of despair and grief.

**Once again, I'm sorry if I ruined your mind with my descriptive prowess, but it was a major plot point. It had to be written. If you are angry with me, review my book and tell me if the story is going too fast. I'll see waht I can do.**

**Snowfur**


	6. Chapter 5

**Once again, I'm sorry for the last chapter. It was important to the script, and now i'm back to the less disturbing story. I think that I could have been a little less descriptive. So! Here's the new chapter!**

Chapter 5

_Bramblekit woke up to find that_ Cinderheart was sleeping in the den next to them. Daisy was sleeping on the far side of the den, and the other nest was empty, as always. Bramblekit had asked Dovewing about it, and she had told him that the nest had belonged to a cat named Ferncloud, who had been killed in a great battle.

Dovewing stirred beside him. "You can go out, but be quiet about it." She said, "We need to let them rest. They've had a rough night, and they need it."

"What happened?"

"Cinderheart had three kits."

"But there are only two in the nest."

"One of them didn't make it. Lionblaze buried it himself."

"Oh."

Bramblekit crept out of the nursery and into the main part of the camp. He was surprised at how many cat's were up this early in the morning. He breathed in the warm newleaf smell. It was refreshing, with a chill to it. He went over to the fresh kill pile. He was finally old enough to eat fresh kill. His mother's milk was starting to dry up, and he wanted to get a start on trying new things.

Then he saw his father approaching and ran up to him, jumping on his back. "Hey! Get off!" He shouted, amusement glittering in his eyes.

"It's a Shadowclan warrior!" Shouted Bramblekit in his high-pitched mew. "Oh no! a strong Thunderclan warrior! Please don't kill me!" Bumblestripe said, "Help! Help! Help!" he shouted. Suddenly, Bramblekit was barreled off of Bumblestripe's back. He looked up to see Hailkit on top of him. She was glaring at him.

"Dovewing told you to keep the noise down!" She said.

"Oops, sorry," Bramblekit muttered.

"You were about to try fresh-kill, weren't you?" She asked.

"Yes, and then I saw Bumblestripe, and I wanted to play a game."

"You were about to try fresh-kill?" Asked Bumblestripe, surprised.

"Yes I was." Bramblekit said, pride swelling his chest.

"Your mother will be so proud!" Bumblestripe exclaimed.

"Pick a small one!" called Thornclaw as he passed on his way out of the camp,"And pick a mouse, their easiest to chew," he added before following Blossomfall, Poppyfrost, and Sorreltail out of camp.

"Bramblekit, we're waiting." Bramblekit turned to see that Bumblestripe and Dovewing were sitting side-by-side at the fresh kill pile, Maplekit was nowhere to be seen. Hailkit was sitting at their feet, looking bored, and a little bit hungry.

Bramblekit scrambled over to the fresh-kill pile. He looked around for a mouse, and found lots. He found the one that looked the smallest, and took it over to his parents. He then settled down to eat. He looked up at his parents, who were looking at him expectantly. He took a tentative bite, and his tongue was flooded with flavor. It was the best thing he had ever tried. He slowed down and savored the flavor. Then he took another bite. It was just as delicious as the first one. He ate the rest of the mouse in ravenous bites.

He looked up at his parents again. Their eyes were glittering with pride.

**So, how was it? I really want to hear your CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Please rate & review!**

Snowfur


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry for being so late. My mom was having me clean the house. This is a shorter chapter, but no less important to the story. In fact, I think it is the most important plot point to date! There was a small fast foreward because I had writer's block as to what else the characters could do as kits. Enjoy! P.S. I do not own Warriors.**

Chapter 6

"_Come on, wake up!" Hailkit flicked_ her ears to tell Greykit and Smallkit to stop bugging her. Ever since they opened their eyes, they had been a nuisance to the whole clan. Maplekit wasn't any help whatsoever, in fact, she was the opposite. She was always playing tricks on cats, but stopped when Jayfeather threatened to delay her apprenticeship. Hailkit couldn't forget the time that Maplekit had poured mouse bile all over her shrew.

Suddenly Hailkit's head shot up. Her apprentice ceremony was today!

"Finally! I thought you'd never get up!" squeaked Greykit, "hurry! It's about to start!

Hailkit gave her chest fur a few quick licks to hide her embarrassment. Then she ran outside, where Dovewing was waiting for her.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting!" Bramblestar called. Hailkit couldn't stop herself from letting out a squeal of excitement. Heads turned in her direction, but she didn't care. This was her moment to shine in front of the whole clan.

Dovewing gave her one last lick, more for comfort than for her looks. "Go on," she said.

Hailkit gave her mother one last look at her mother before rushing off toward the Highledge. Bramblestar was waiting there, his eyes showing nothing but pride at more kits becoming apprentices.

Hailkit sat down next to her siblings in between Bramblestar and the rest of the clan. Bramblestar waved his tail for Bramblekit to step forward. "Bramblekit, you have waited long to be an apprentice. From this moment onward, until he has received his warrior name, this kit will be known as Bramblepaw. Your mentor will be…" His voice trailed off as he scanned the warriors in front of him, "Squirrelflight, you have reflexes as sharp as your tongue, but you also have compassion. I want you to pass these skills on to This apprentice."

Hailkit was envious of Bramblepaw. Why should he get the deputy as his mentor? Bramblepaw walked over to Squirrelflight, who touched noses with her.

"Maplekit, come forward." Bramblestar said. Maplekit hesitated and glanced at Jayfeather. He nodded, his blind eyes scanning the group of cats. "Maplekit, you are a troublemaker. But the clan needs more warriors, and with Molepaw and Cherrypaw about to become warriors, we need more apprentices. From this moment onward, this kit will be known as Maplepaw. Your mentor will be Thornclaw. Thornclaw, you have shown bravery in countless battles, including in the battle against the Dark Forest."

There was a visible shudder in the gathered cats. Clearly this was a topic not often discussed. Most of the cats still had scars from that battle.

Thornclaw stepped forward, his eyes bright with excitement and touched noses with her.

It was Hailkit's turn. Before Bramblestar could say her name, she rushed forward. His eyes glittered with amusement. "From this moment onward, this kit will be known as Hailpaw. Your mentor will be Sorreltail." Sorreltail padded up and touched noses with her new apprentice.

"Bramblepaw! Maplepaw! Hailpaw!"

Hailpaw's chest swelled with so much pride as the clan cheered her name, she thought she might burst.

"The clan meeting is over. Ivypool, will you organize the patrols? I have a feeling that Squirrelflight wants to go out with her new apprentice." He said, glancing at his mate.

Ivypool looked startled at the request. "O-okay." She stammered. Bramblestar walked away, obviously deep in thought. He looked like something was troubling him. Hailpaw wanted to know what. Before she could however, Sorreltail called her name.

**Yay! Apprentices! I am going to need other OC's for apprentices in other clans. So PM me your OC's names, genders, and appearance of the cats (EX. Firepaw (heart, star), Male, flame color pelt & deep green eyes.) Remember to rate & review and all that blimey (Yeah, I speak French!)**

**Snowfur**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hi! me again! Sorry about not posting since before Christmas, but these past weeks have been completely hectic and I lost all my chapters. It sucks because I had all the way to chapter 15 completed T.T. These next few chapters are all the same day.**

Chapter 7

_Maplepaw could hardly suppress a yowl_ of excitement. She was finally out of the camp! She had been waiting for this chance since she was two moons old.

"Keep up, Maplepaw," Called Thornclaw as he padded down one of the well-trodden paths that branched away from the camp entrance. Maplepaw stopped and looked around. She had never seen this many trees in her life! This made her think of the time that she had tricked Seedpaw into counting all of the trees that she could see from camp. She purred at the memory and looked for Thornclaw.

She couldn't hear him at all, and fear started to set in. She ran down the road she thought he had taken, not even thinking to scent the air. If she had, she would have been able to scent him out easily.

She had always been told she had a good nose, better than anyone in Thunderclan except Cloudtail and Dovewing, but she was too worried to consider this option.

She ran down the trail for a while, then finally decided to stop and smell for her mentor. She stopped and sniffed the air, turned around a few times, but couldn't scent him. She finally decided to head back in the direction she had come in. The problem was, she had gotten all mixed up in her directions and had forgotten which way she had come. Looking around, she picked a direction and followed the path from there.

She became afraid again and began running along the path. A strong scent washed over her and she skidded to a stop a mouse-length from passing in between two large maple trees that acted as a passageway into a very large clearing. Maplepaw wrinkled her nose as the scent washed over her again. It was a mixture of pinesap and damp moss.

While she was sniffing, the wind changed to blow into her face. The smell became much stronger. Suddenly, from behind the trees, appeared three cats: one was pure white she-cat, another was a dark brown tom, and the third was a cream-and-grey tom. All three had their hackles raised, fury in each of their eyes.

"Well well." Said the she-cat, sneering at Maplepaw and narrowing her eyes. "What have we here?"

"It looks like we have a trespasser." Replied the cream-and-grey tom, his eyes glinting.

"And what do we do with tresspassers, Toadfoot?" asked the she-cat, still glaring at Maplepaw.

"We shred them, obviously." Answered the dark brown tom lips drawn back in a snarl. "Where were you during your apprenticeship, Snowbird?"

"Shall we, Snowbird?" asked the cream-and-grey tom, glancing at the she-cat.

"Yes, Ferretclaw, we shall." Answered Snowbird. At that, they all began advancing on her.

Suddenly, out of the bushes came Thornclaw, hissing, claws extended, out of the bushes. The three cats leapt back in surprise.

"Get away from my apprentice!" he spat at the cats, who turned tail and fled in the direction where they had come.

Thornclaw turned on his apprentice. "Why did you go this way?" he demanded, golden-brown pelt beginning to lie flat again.

Maplepaw was just about to recount her story when she heard a familiar voice yowl, "Hailpaw, get back here!"

**So, how'd I do? Please review and remember, I still need apprentices from Riverclan and Shadowclan, so send them in. I'll do another example: (Yellowkit(Paw, Fang) Shadowclan, Dark grey she-cat with orange eyes and a squashed face.)**

**Snowfur**


	9. Chapter 8

**All right, time for some fun. I have a little challenge for you. See if you can guess my favorite warrior. Your 1st hint: I have thick fur.**

**Anyway, this is a very important chapter in the book. See if you can figure out why.**

Chapter 8

"We should mark the border with Windclan," said Squirrelflight as she and Bramblepaw padded along the trail. Bramblepaw was bouncing up and down with excitement. He was finally out of the camp! He was reminded of when Snowpaw had come back on his first day as an apprentice boasting about how he had gotten to leave camp and he, Bramblepaw, hadn't.

Soon, they reached the scent line. "Breathe in," said Squirrelflight, "Get used to the scent, so that you will be able to recognize it later." Bramblepaw inhaled deeply. Windclan smelled strongly of heather, with some cat scent mixed in. He wrinkled his nose at the smell.

"At least we don't have a border with Riverclan any more," said Squirrelflight, "They smell like fish and river water. Let's lay down our own scent." She added, padding over to a tree.

Bramblepaw wandered over to the other side of the clearing, and began scenting trees. Suddenly, he heard a twig snap to his left, on the Thunderclan side of the border.

"Hello?" he said slowly. Suddenly, he caught a flash of black fur in the shadows. "Spiderleg, is that you?"

No answer. Then he saw two amber eyes in the shadows. "S-Squirrelflight." He said, his voice wavering.

Squirrelflight came bounding over. "What is it?" she said.

"There is a strange cat over there in the woods."

"Where? I don't see any cat."

"Right there, in the woods!" he knew he had great eyesight, but this was ridiculous! Looking at her, he saw that her eyes were filled with uncertainty. "Here, I'll show you!" and with that, he leapt on the cat in the shadows.

He landed with an "oof!" in the middle of a small space, well hidden from the area around it. Looking around, he saw that the cat had gone. Sniffing, he couldn't detect the scent of the cat, even though it had been sitting there for some time.

Squirrelflight leapt into the space behind him and helped him up. "What were you thinking?" she demanded, her eyes burning into his, "You are on you're first day as an apprentice! Do you think that you can take on a seasoned warrior or a rogue?"

"No, Squirrelflight." He said, not lowering his gaze, "I just thought that I needed to uphold the warrior code."

Bramblepaw could see the conflict in his mentor's eyes. She let her shoulders slump. "Let's just head to the border that we don't share with the clans. Don't be so reckless next time."

Bramblepaw followed Squirrelflight out of the little clearing and along the Windclan border, until Squirrelflight turned and headed into the woods. Bramblepaw sniffed the ground when he reached the spot where Squirrelflight had turned.. He smelled Thunderclan scent, but there was a subtler scent underneath, something Bramblepaw had never smelled before, but it smelled horrible.

Turning, he ran after Squirrelflight. Upon catching up with her, he asked, "Why do we even have a border over here if there aren't any clans over here?"

Squirrelflight glanced at him before answering, "Because, there are a group of loners that live on the moor in that direction."

Suddenly, on the edge of his hearing, Bramblepaw heard a yowl. "Did you hear that?" he asked his mentor.

"Hear what?" she asked, rolling her eyes at him.

"That yowl. I heard a yowl."

Sighing, she said, "Fine, let's go see what it was you heard."

**How did I do? Please review and give me 1 or 2 more Shadowclan apprentices.**

**Snowfur**


	10. Chapter 9

**All right! Here it is. Now you will know how Hailpaw fits into all of this. Remember, I do not own Warriors.**

Chapter 9

_Hailpaw looked out over the large_ expanse of water that was the lake. "Why are we here?" she asked Sorreltail. "Isn't there a border for us to mark?"

"Not today," her mentor said, "Thornclaw and Maplepaw are marking the Shadowclan border, and Squirrelflight and Bramblepaw are marking the Windclan and loner borders. We're just going to be looking around the borders today." Hailpaw nodded and stood up.

"Then let's go to the Shadowclan border. Come on, it's almost sunhigh!" Hailpaw said excitedly.

Slowly, Sorreltail got to her paws. "Okay, I guess we have been here a little longer than I intended, let's go."

As they padded along the path, Hailpaw decided that she wanted to check the forest for prey. "Hey Sorreltail, can we hunt for a little bit first?"

"But you don't even know the hunter's crouch." Said Sorreltail, amusement in her eyes.

"Then teach me." Said Hailpaw.

Sorreltail sighed. "Fine," she said, "Do what I do." She crouched low to the ground. Hailpaw followed her example, and crouched down.

"Lift your tail." Said Sorreltail, "and balance your weight in your paws."

Hailpaw made the necessary adjustments and began to move forward.

"Keep your tail still." Said Sorreltail. "And glide your paws across the ground. And watch the ground between you and the prey. You don't want to tread on any sticks or thorns."

Hailpaw hadn't noticed that her tail had been waving around, and stopped. She tried to move more slowly, sliding her paws over the fallen leaves.

Suddenly, she heard rustling in the undergrowth up ahead. Signaling to Sorreltail with her tail, she began stalking the creature, whatever it was. She saw a tiny head poke out of the leaves and sniff the air. Luckily, she was downwind, so the creature could not smell her.

She finally got close enough to see that the creature that she was stalking was a squirrel, and a very large one at that. She was about to pounce, when suddenly she heard yowling coming from farther down the trail. Her tail twitched in surprise, scattering some leaves behind her.

The squirrel took off running, but Hailpaw didn't care. She turned towards her mentor. "Did you hear that?" she asked.

"I heard the squirrel getting away, if that's what you're wondering." Replied Sorreltail, eyes full of sympathy.

"No, the yowling from over there!" said Hailpaw, flicking her tail in the direction the yowls were coming from.

"Hailpaw, I don't hear anything." There was worry in her mentor's mew.

"Fine! Follow me!" With that, she bolted into the trees.

"Hailpaw! Where are you going?" Sorreltail called after her.

Hailpaw ignored her and plunged through a group of trees. On the other side, she found that she was in a huge clearing. Across the clearing, she saw a golden-brown pelt leaping around with a pure white pelt, a dark brown pelt, and a cream-and-grey pelt. She immediately recognized the golden-brown pelt as Thornclaw. She ran over to help him, but the cats attacking him were already retreating across the field. "And don't come back!" Thornclaw yowled before turning and padding into the woods.

Hailpaw was about to turn and head back to the forest when she saw that the cats had stopped their retreat and were now running toward her at full pelt.

Then she heard Sorreltail's worried yowl, "Hailpaw, get back here!"

**Now then! tell me what you think, either through a review or a PM, and I still need another Shadowclan apprentice. Now, your next clue for my favorite Warrior cat is: I have amber eyes. Think about it and send me your answers.**

**Snowfur**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hi again, sorry for not posting in a while, but I have been taking more time to write, and am finding it harder to balance between rehearsals and publishing, so I am now only going to be updating once every week or so. So! Time for the next clue!**

**Previous hints:**

**"I have fluffy fur."**

**"I have amber eyes."**

**New hint: "I am a Thunderclan cat, but am also descended from Skyclan."**

Chapter 10

Maplepaw whipped her head around in time to see Hailpaw surrounded on three sides by those cats that had attacked her: Toadfoot, Snowbird, and Ferretclaw. "Stay here." Thornclaw commanded his apprentice before running to the group of cats in the clearing.

Maplepaw was overcome with conflicting emotions. Thornclaw was her mentor, and she was supposed to follow his orders, but Hailpaw was her sister, and she was supposed to help her siblings through everything!

Suddenly, she saw a flash of brown and orange fur flash past her, followed closely by a larger ginger one. Bramblepaw and Squirrelflight! Maplepaw thought about joining them, but her loyalty to her mentor won out, and she sat down with a sigh.

Looking up, she saw that Thornclaw was squirming underneath Ferretclaw, who was trying to bite at his neck. As she watched, Squirrelflight's paw slammed into the side of Ferretclaw's head, stunning him. He staggered off of Thornclaw, who leapt up and threw himself on top of the other.

Bramblepaw slammed into Snowbird, who was about to leap on Hailpaw. It seemed that he had his claws unsheathed, because the she-cat yowled in pain, and blood splattered from her face across her pelt.

Sorreltail was grappling with Toadfoot, both of them fighting to pin the other down. Maplepaw saw all of this and decided that she needed to help them. Standing up, she bolted for the battle. Thornclaw looked up. "You were supposed to stay there!" he hissed at her.

"You were losing, so I thought that I would join you." She said back.

She rammed Toadfoot, who had finally managed to pin Sorreltail. He staggered back, and she bit him in the leg. Yowling in pain, he lunged at her, slamming her to the ground. She struggled underneath him, trying to claw his belly, but her legs were too short. His head lunged at her neck, but suddenly, his head disappeared, along with the weight on her shoulders.

When she stood up, Maplepaw saw that Hailpaw had joined the fight and was clawing at Toadfoot. Toadfoot turned tail and fled across the field, finally having enough of the constant attack.

Maplepaw turned around and saw that Snowbird was padding slowly away fron the battle, leaving a trail of blood across the field.

Ferretclaw, seeing that he was the only one left, slashed at Thornclaw one last time, and darted of after his clanmates.

"Come on," Thornclaw said, "we don't want them to attack us again." They then made their way over to the forest. As soon as they got there, Thornclaw turned on Maplepaw. "I told you to stay where you were!" he hissed.

"I could see that you were losing and needed help." Maplepaw said.

"But I am your mentor! You are supposed to follow my instructions!"

"But-"

"No! You aren't even a warrior!Nor are you an experienced apprentice! You are barely out of kithood-"

"And that," interrupted Squirrelflight, "is why you need to be kinder when reprimand her. And I'm going to have to tell Bramblestar about this."

Thornclaw glared at her a moment longer before finally dropping his gaze to the ground. "Fine, whatever." He muttered.

The rest of the journey back was completed in silence, and when they got back, Squirrelflight motioned for Thornclaw to follow her to Bramblestar's den.

Maplepaw padded over to the fresh-kill pile and took a small thrush. She padded over to a small bush near the apprentices den and sat down. She wanted to be alone, and hiding over here was what she wanted to do. While she sat there, she saw Bramblestar pad out of his den, Squirrelflight and Thornclaw right behind him.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting!" his yowl echoed around the clearing. Cats poured in from the dens to filter into the dip under the Highledge. Maplepaw sighed and padded into the little dip after them.

"It has come to my attention that one of our apprentices is in need of a new mentor. Maplepaw, step foreward." Maplepaw was shocked. A change in mentors? That hadn't happened since Sandstorm got switched from Darkstripe to Whitestorm. Both cats had died before the clans had moved to the new territories.

Slowly, she padded over to the highledge. Soon, she stood before Bramblestar. "I Bramblestar, have called my clan together to watch as I switch the mentors of the apprentice standing before me. Maplepaw, do you wish for a different mentor?"

Maplepaw felt a rush of conflicting feelings enter her mind. She never did well under pressure like this. She liked Thornclaw, but the way he had acted at the Shadowclan border had frightened her. However, she felt that she needed to try harder with Thornclaw before deciding.

"No, Bramblestar, that is not my wish." She answered him.

**Uh-Oh, major cliffie ahead! Sorry, but this is where I end for this week. keep your eyes open for more updates, and review! I no longer need any more apprentices, so thank you, HyPeR and Shadowfur, for your apprentice names. Keep reading!**

**Snowfur**


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